#legislative-tactics

#legislative-tactics

"My constituents are saving thousands of dollars and they know it. Republicans can and should take credit because the alternative would've been massive tax hikes under the Democrats had they won the 2024 election."

The law did not eliminate the charitable deduction in name. It rendered it functionally useless for anyone who does not already have enough deductions to clear the standard deduction threshold on their own.

A ProPublica investigation has found that most of these bills are part of a coordinated effort, orchestrated by a constellation of groups that share staff or have funding ties to the prominent conservative activist Leonard Leo.

Gonzales has been in hot water on Capitol Hill for a while, after repeatedly denying and then admitting he was lying about an affair with a married staffer who later committed suicide in exceedingly grisly and tragic fashion.

When child care can cost more than your rent or a mortgage, or you have to sacrifice a paycheck in order to be able to take care of a loved one, that can motivate how people vote. Each election cycle, we see candidates recognizing that more and more.

Organizational filibustering refers to strategies that delay and obstruct efforts to pursue social justice in systems. These additions can stretch out the process of implementation of diversity strategic plans or multicultural programs for years. Change agents can become battle-fatigued and give up their efforts. They can also become so disheartened that they leave a group or organization altogether.

Republican supporters of the SAVE America Act describe the law as a commonsense measure to prevent voter fraud, yet it represents a blatant defiance of common sense and a fraudulent seizure of ballot access.

The legislation - which only applies to large oil companies - would impose a per-barrel tax "equal to 50% of the difference between the current price per barrel of oil and the average price per barrel last year, when big oil companies were already earning large profits."

The principle of intellectual charity is fundamental to constructive political conversations. This principle states that, in any discussion, we should accept the best version of an opponent's ideas, not a distorted version or a "straw man." Exaggeration and distortion of opposing opinions (always present, to some degree, in political debates) have become the standard form of political argument in contemporary America.

The loan limits-which were prompted by congressional legislation and fleshed out through a contentious rule-making process -cap the amount a graduate student can borrow based on the type of program they enroll in. If their program is deemed "professional," they can borrow up to $50,000 a year or $200,000 total; meanwhile, students in programs labeled "graduate" can only take out half that-$20,500 a year or $100,000 total. Under the proposed regulations, only 11 degree programs are considered professional.

AIPAC prizes its reputation as a formidable adversary, of course, because it discourages anyone from questioning its agenda. But the scholars also gave credence to the idea of a nearly unbeatable pro-Israel lobby, claiming that AIPAC has a stranglehold on the U.S. Congress.

The interchamber tensions between Democrats are becoming a regular feature of funding fights in the second Trump term. Lawmakers, strategists and voters alike exploded in anger last March when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a handful of colleagues allowed a spending package to move forward amid the Elon Musk-led DOGE assault on federal agencies. In November, tempers again flared when a handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to end a record 43-day shutdown.

I think we know what the agenda items are. Accomplishing those is going to be hard with a small majority. The upshot is that Trump's prime-time address is unlikely to make more than a ripple in the congressional agenda over the coming months. It's the reality, Republicans acknowledged Wednesday, of life in Washington right now: Despite its trifecta, the party's legislative ambitions are being hemmed in by its barely-there majorities.

He is not worthy of the presidency. He takes bribes blatantly. And now he's being a racist, blatantly. They were supposed to deport the dangerous criminals. They were not supposed to go after small children, storm schools, bring terror upon, you know, the little kids and the women and children, not just the immigrants in the school. All the children are scared.

A super PAC linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has made its first major venture into the United States midterm elections. But this time around, the pro-Israel lobby group is not targeting a progressive candidate pushing to reset US-Israel policy, but a so-called moderate Democrat who tepidly questioned Washington's unconditional military support amid the genocidal war on Gaza.

Age has long been a point of debate in American politics, but it becomes especially controversial when lawmakers remain in office well beyond traditional retirement years. As the nation grapples with issues like healthcare, technology, and economic change, questions naturally arise about how age, generation status, and experience influence leadership at the highest levels of government. For some voters, longevity in office represents wisdom; for others, it raises concerns about representation and outdated reasoning.

If the second Trump administration has been a metaphorical firefight over whether the U.S. is a democracy or a theocracy run by Christian nationalists, Democrats didn't bring a hose-they brought a couple of water balloons to fuck around with. They've caved, insulted voters and each other, and given everyone brain-splitting migraines. And when Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent on January 7, they still didn't say anything about blocking the budget bill that would give ICE another few billion.